fese nfeld



H. FESENFELD.

PLACER MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED MY27'19I5. i 1. c, 1 93,52%@ Patented Aug. 1, 1916.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

H.`FESENFELD.

PLACER MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED MAY 27. |915.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

HERMAN FESENFELD, OF SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-FOURTH T0 K. L. KIDD, ONE-FOURTH TO C. T. DAVENPORT, AND ONE-FOURTH TO A. B. BOWMAN, ALL

OF SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA.

PLACER-MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 1, 1916.

Application filed May 27, 1915. Serial No. 30,761.

To all ywhom it may concern Be it known that I, HERMAN FESENFELD, a citizen of the United States, residing at San Diego, in the county of San Diego and State of California, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Placer- Machines, of which the following is a specilication.

My invention relates to a machine for washing placer ground and separating the minerals from said ground.

The objects of my invention are, first, to provide a means for separating the placer `ground into lots of different sizes; second, ,to provide means for separating the heavier mineral portions of the separate lots from the lighter, non-mineral portions, the heavy moving in one direction and the light moving in the opposite direction in a portion of the machine; third, to provide a means for separating flour and flake gold or other flour `and flake mineial from the other portions of the ground and saving the same; fourthv` to provide a means for washing and stirring the mass of stones, gravel and other ground so they do not adhere to each other and may be readily separated; fifth, to provide means for facilitatingthe handling of placer ground in large quantities and the separation of the minerals therefrom, and sixth, to provide such a machine that is simple and economical of construction, durable, easily operated, easily installed and easily moved from place to place.

With these and other objects in view as will appear hereinafter, my invention consists of certain novel features of construction, combination and arrangement of parts as will be hereinafter described in detail and particularly set forth in the appended claims, reference being had `to the accompanying drawings and to the characters of reference thereon which form a part of this specification, in which:

Figure 1, is a longitudinal sectional view of my machine; Fig. 2, is a detail 4enlarged fragmentary A)erspective view of thev upper screen and ri e rack and riffle frame; Fig. is a similar view of the lower screen and rillle rack and riffle frame, and Fig. 4, is a detail enlarged perspectivevview of the cam device for causing the jolt of the machine.

Similar characters of reference refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

The frame 1, bumper bar 2, spring 3, lower screen and riffie rack 4, riffle frame 5, screens (l, 7 and 8, upper screen and riflie rack 9, upper rilie frame 10, -upper screens 11, 12 and 13, suspension rods 1-1, washing board 15, conveyer 1G, mixing vessel 17, sprocket 18, chain 19, sprocket 20, operating rod 21, cam 22, chain 23, sprocket 21 and fly wheel 25 constitute the principal parts of my placer machine.

The frame 1, is rectangularly shaped, consisting of 11p-rights 1a and 1b with upper horizontal pieces 1c and it is mounted on wheels 1d to facilitate its movement from place to place. Suspended from the upper horizontal bars 1, by means of the suspension rods 14 pivoted at 14 so as to allow them to swing thereon, are the screen and riflie racks 4 and 9 which are provided with a plurality of cleats 4 and 9 on the sides thereof for the screens and riiile frames to rest and slide upon sothey may be readilyn removed endwise from these racks. Mountw ed in the bottom of the screen and riflle rack 4 is the rifiie frame 5 which consists of a rectangularly `shaped frame and it is provided with a bottom, 5% Mounted on the upper surface of this bottom is provided a piece of cloth fabric 5b, which is preferably an ordinary Brussels carpet and mounted over this carpet aie a plurality of riflies 5 which are preferably round rods andthey are held in position by means of bars 5d provided with notches in their lower surfaces for said rodsandrsaid hars are held in position by the pins 5e which, when turned` allow the removal of said bars which allows the removal of the rilfles and carpet for cleaning. Mounted in this screen and riflle rack 4 above this riille frame 5 on the cleats 4 is a fine mesh screen (3 adapted to be readily removed therefrom. Immediately above this screen G and similarly7 mounted is another screen 7 of coarser mesh and above the screen 7 and sin'iilarly mounted is another screen 8 of still coarser mesh. This screen 8 is the top screen in the vrack l and it is provided near its upper end with a pocket S that the ground which goes over the riile board 10 drops down into from the lower end of said rilile board l0. lt is mada by stretching the wire of the screen slightly across said screen and tapers to the normal plane and is for the purpose of catching vto and holding the mineral that might accidentally go over the ril'He board 10 with the ground.

The rifiie frame 10 is slidably mounted in the. lower part of the rack 9 and consists of a rectangularly shaped bottom piece which is provided with flanged sides 10 and with rililes 10b across the same. These riiles are preferably from one to one and one half inches in height, depending on the kind of placer ground to be worked. This rille frame bottom 10 is open from the point 10Cl to the lower end to allow the ground from said riffie board to go through on to the screen 8. Immediately above this riffle frame 10 is the screen 1,1, slidably mounted on the cleats 9c, which is of larger mesh then the screen 8. Secured to the lower end thereof is a slide piece 11a adapted to conduct the refuse from the three upper screens away from the machine. Immediately above this screen 11 similarly mounted is another screen 12 of larger mesh and above the screen 12 similarly mounted is another screen 13 of still larger mesh.

It will be here noted that these several screens in the racks 4 and 9 are removable and interchangeable so as to vary their relative positions and to change the screens to different mesh screens when desired for different kinds of ground. Secured to the upper end of the frame 10 and extending on approximately the same angle for some dis tance is a washing board 15 which consists of a trough provided with a` corrugated bottom 15a. This is for the purpose of washing the placer ground as it is mixed with the proper quantity of water and runs and rolls down over said corrugated bottom'. These screen and rilile racks 4 and 9 are rigidly secured together and at one end are provided with a rod 3 `which extends through a bumper piece 4c and through a bumper piece 2 secured across the frame to the 11p-rights 1a at the one end, and on the outward extending end of said rod 3 is a compressed spring 3. This rod 3 is provided With a collar 3b on the extended end. This spring is for the purpose of thrusting the bumper piece 4c against the bumper piece 2 when the frames 4 and 9 are swung by means of the cam 22 which is revolved by means of the sprocket 2O and thel cam engaging with a roller 21a upon the rod 21. This rod 21 is secured to the lower frame 4 so that when the cam 22 is revolved it thrusts the screen frames 4 and 9 away from the front of the frame and when thel cam revolves to a certain position the spring 3 thrusts the frame back so that the bumpers 4 and 2 come together with a. shock. This sprocket 20 is revolved by means of a. chain- 23-on the'fsprocket 24 on a shaft secured to the front end of the machine. Upon said shaft is provided a Hy wheel adapted for a belt to any driving motor. In order to thoroughly stir the placer ground and wash the same and convey it, there is provided the conveyer 1G of the endless chain type provided with a. plurality of buckets 16 thereon. The lower end of this conveyer is mounted in a vessel 17 in which the placer ground is dumped by any means or method desired. Alsointo this vessel 17 is supplied a. proper vquantity of water to thoroughly wash the dirt from the gravel by the operation of the buckets 16 in said vessel and over the wash board 15 and the various screens and rilles or a portion of the water may be supplied to the upper end of the wash board if desired by other means. This conveyer 16 is operated by means of a chain 19 and sprocket 18 engaging with a sprocket on the same shaft with the sprocket 20.

The operation of the machine is as follows: The placer ground is placed in the vessel 17 by any means desired, preferably by caving from above, and is there stirred and conveyed by means of the buckets 16 on the conveyer 16, the buckets carrying the placer ground mixed with water and dumping it on to the upper end of the wash board 15, thence it runs down over the wash board 15 and is separated into different sizes by means of the screens 11,12 and 13, that which is too large to go through the screens 11, 12 and 13 going down over the slide piece 11 past the end of the machine. That which goes through the screen 11 passes downover the rilles 10b and at the lower end drops 100 down on to the screen 8 in the pocket S precipitating the heavier materials into said pocket and it' they are finer than the mesh of the screen 8 go through said screen on to the screens below and to the rillles 5c.

It will be here noted that the ground is separated until very fine and when precipitated on to the rillle board which is covered with a carpet, the fine flake and flour gold catches in the carpet and is held there while the lighter materials go down the incline over the rilles and out to the end of the machine. The shock or jolt, by reason of the bumpers 4c and 2 coming together. cans ing the heavier metals to move toward the front end of the machine, the lighter materials to move toward the rear end by reason of the decline. The coarse placer ground will be rapidly moved over the screens and rii'lies in the frame 9 by reason of this shock 120 and will move very slowly over the screens and riffles in the frame 4 thus giving time to precipitate or separate the flour, flake or fine gold on the lower rifiles and still provides for handling a large quantity 'of lacer 125 ground over the upper screens and riil es.

Though I have shown and described a particular construction, combination and arrangement of parts, I do not wish to be limited to this particular construction, com- 13 bination and arrangement but desire to include in the purview of my invention, the construction, combination and arrangement substantially as set forth in the appended claims.

It is obvious that with this construction there is provided a machine for handling placer ground in which gold or other precious metals of high specific gravity will be readily separated from the dirt, stones, sand, gravel and other baser metals of lower specific gravity regardless ofthe size of the particles of the metals or earth; that the particles with the lower specific ravity will go in one direction over the ri es and the particles of higher specific gravity will go in the opposite direction' against the rifiles and the carpet; that the particles of lower specific gravity will descend while the particles of high specific gravity will ascend in the dii'erent rille frames; that the shock or jolt of the screens and rille frames and the inclinesupon whichv the .particles rest by reason of the inertia of the heavier particles willcause them to move in one direction while the lighter particles will move in the opposite direction; that the corrugated surface over which the particles move, mixed with the water together with their agitation by means of the conveyer cups from which 'the particles are, packed, will thoroughly wash 'and separate the` dirt from the stones,

after which they are readily separated into lots of different sizes by means of the various screens operated by the bumperdevice.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to.\secure by Letters Patent,l is

1. In a placer machine, the combination of a forwardly inclined separating screen and correspondingly inclined riille table, a lower reversely inclined screen and correspondingly inclined riiile table adapted to receive the fines passing throuh the upper screen and over the upper l table and means for applying to the whole a shakel j adapted to project material forwardly in the direction of inclination ofthe upper screen and table and against the inclination of the lower screen and table.

v2. In a placer machine, the combination of a plurality of different mesh forwardly inclined .separating screens and correspondingly inclined riille table, a plurality of different mesh reversely inclined screens, and correspondingly inclined riiile table adapted to receive the fines passing through the upper screens and over the upper riille table, and means for applying to the whole a shock adapted to project material forwardly inthe direction of inclination of the upper screens and table and against the inclination of the lower screens and table.`

3. In a placer machine, the combination of a forwardly inclined rack provided with a plurality of different mesh separating screens, and with a plurality of rilles and a lower reversely inclined rack provided with a plurality of different mesh screens and a plurality of riflies, said lower screens and riiiles adapted to receive the fines passing through the upper rack, screens and riilles, and means for applying to the whole a shock adapted to project material forwardly in the direction of inclination of the upper rack and against the inclination of the lower rack.'

4.' In a placer machine, the combination of a forwardly inclined rack provided with a lpluralit of different mesh separating screens, ri es and carpet adapted to receive a lower reversely inclined rack provided with a plurality of different` mesh screens,

a plurality of riflles and a carpet, said lower screens riiiles and carpet adapted to receive the lines passing through the upper rack,

screens and riilles, and means for applying to the whole a shock adapted to project mai terial forwardly in the direction o f the inclination of the upper rack and against the inclination of the lower rack.

5. In a placer machine, the combination of a forwardly inclined rack provided with a plurality of di'erent mesh separating screens, and with a plurality of riiiles and a lower reversely inclined rack provided with a plurality of different mesh screens, a plurality of riilles Vand a carpet, said lower screens, riiiles and parpet adapted to receive 4thefnes passing through the upper rack, 

